Criminal Behavioural Analyst

Laura Richards, BSc, MSc, MBPsS

Laura is a renowned international expert on domestic violence, stalking, sexual violence, homicide and risk assessment. After a decade of analysing violent crime at New Scotland Yard Laura became the violence adviser to the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC). Trained by world leaders as a criminal behavioural analyst at the Behavioural Analysis Unit, National Centre for the Analysis of Violent Crime at the FBI and New Scotland Yard, Laura has applied her psychology degrees to analyse violent crime from a behavioural and preventative perspective.

Laura has a BSc in Psychology and Sociology and an MSc in Forensic and Legal Psychology, and with a background in intelligence-led policing, has been the architect of law reform to better protect victims on six occasions.

Laura is Founder of Paladin, the world’s first National Stalking Advocacy Service. Paladin was set up following the highly successful All Party Parliamentary Stalking Law Reform Campaign spearheaded by Laura, which led to stalking becoming a criminal offence in 2012. More recently Laura spearheaded the Domestic Violence Law Reform Campaign to criminalise coercive control. Laura helped draft the new law and the statutory guidance and developed and delivered the first training on the new law in the UK.

Laura was head of the Violent Crime and Intelligence Analysis Unit in the Metropolitan Police Service and continues to advise NPCC, the College of Policing, the Home Office and police services across the UK on public protection.

Laura developed the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment and Honour based violence (DASH 2009-2018) Risk Identification, Assessment and Management Model on behalf of NPCC and in partnership with Safer Lives.

Through Laura’s expertise in domestic violence, stalking and sexual abuse, Laura is an established commentator in the media and has previously looked at cold cases, launched appeals, spoken with police officers and interviewed families who have lost loved ones through violent assaults.

Laura, along with Jim Clemente, is co-creator and executive producer of the CBS show ‘The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey which aired in 2016 in the US and more recently The Case of: Caylee Anthony which aired in 2018.